Greetings From Asbury Park, NJ

† Explanation of BAC Ride Fee – This fee is not included in the Estimated Cost and is non-refundable once submitted. The Ride Fee for US and Canada is $85 and $150 for all other countries, both are per participant.

Ride Description

OVERVIEW:  So you’ve cycled in almost every state but New Jersey. Or you want to visit New York City in the fall. Maybe you even want to see where your grandparents first arrived in America. Perhaps it might even be fun to ride a bit as we do these other things. These are excellent reasons to join this ride but not the right ones. Come for the riding. You’ll like it. This fixed based ride will stay in Ocean Grove, NJ, a charming Victorian town right next to Asbury Park. The one constant of all the rides is flat terrain, except for a short incline or two on a few of the rides. Along the Coast we’ll visit Sandy Hook National Park, Mount Mitchell Scenic Overlook (this is a NJ mountain, rather more like a bump but a great view of the Verrazano Bridge and NYC), Spring Lake, Bay Head, and more. Inland, we'll visit Rumson, Red Bank, and Little Silver, plus we’ll cycle through farm land and horse country, with some very picturesque riding. You’ll not believe you’re in New Jersey! For you music fans, we’ll see the homes of Bruce Springsteen, Jon Bon Jovi, as well as the legendary Stone Pony, a stone’s throw away in neighboring Asbury Park. For a look at Asbury Park see www.cntraveller.com/recommended/cities/asbury-park-weekend-break-new-york/ and www.vogue.com/13331277/asbury-park-travel-guide-jersey-shore/ .

RIDE RATING:  1B. Both shorter and longer rides available. All rides are flat with distances ranging from 25 miles to 65 miles or more. As previously mentioned, a few rides have short climbs in the 5% grade range but no ride is less than 90% flat. We're riding the Jersey Shore which can be crowded in July and August but the summer season is well past and traffic will be generally light.  Around a few more urban areas, you’ll encounter moderate traffic. Road conditions are excellent throughout. This ride is great for tandems.

WEATHER:  Temperatures in late September will be in the 70s during the day, falling into the 60s in the evening. This past September was gorgeous, with clear days and very mild temperatures. As always, rain is a possibility.

LODGING AND MEALS:  We’ll be staying at the Ocean Plaza ( www.theinnsofoceangrove.com ), located one block from the Atlantic Ocean in Ocean Grove. Our Happy Hour will be on the second floor porch which offers stunning views of the ocean. Offsite Happy Hours will be held in various and interesting nearby locations. We’ll also be having a local historian as a guest speaker. There’s a treasure trove of restaurants, both in Ocean Grove and Asbury Park. All are within walking distance! Daily continental breakfast, happy hours, and two group dinners are included in the cost of the Tour.

LOGISTICS:  If driving, there is plenty of free, safe, on street parking at the hotel. We recommend you fly into Newark Airport, which is approximately 48 miles from Ocean Grove. From the airport, you could either take a train to Asbury Park and cab, Uber, hire a car or walk to the hotel, or hire a car or van service from the airport. Bikes may be shipped to/from Second Life Bikes, 21 Main Street, Asbury Park, 07712 (732-776-6878) which is very close to the hotel. You may either have them put your bikes together for you or, if you prefer, they have tools for you to put them together yourselves. If shipping your bikes, we strongly recommend using Bike Flights (www.bikeflights.com).  The only bike rentals available in the area are beach cruisers and hourly city bikes, neither of which are suitable.

COST & ADMINISTRATION:  The tour cost of $­­­­950 includes 7 nights lodging (double occupancy), 2 group dinners, 7 breakfasts and 7 happy hours, plus maps, cue sheets and GPX files for down loading to your own GPS devices. The initial deposit of $500 does not include the BAC registration fee of $50 and both will be due upon acceptance to the ride. The final payment of $450 is due on August 1, 2018.

SINGLES & SOLOS:  Single and solo riders will be accepted. While we encourage singles to try to find their own roommate, we will assist singles who are looking for a roommate. If a roommate cannot be found by July 1,2018, participants can cancel without penalty (except the BAC registration fee and payment processing fees) or singles can pay the solo supplement of $500 and have a room to themselves.  Single supplement payments will need to be made by check directly to the Ride Leader.

CANCELLATION POLICY:  The BAC ride registration fee and payment processing fees are not refundable unless the entire tour is cancelled. Refunds of tour payments will depend upon whether a replacement rider signs up, and on costs that can be recouped. The amount refunded will be based on the principle that the tour’s remaining participants will not incur any additional cost as a result of cancellations. If the cancelling participant is replaced, a refund will be made at that time. If the cancelling participant can’t be replaced any refund will be determined after the ride and final expense report are completed. If a single participant cancels and another roommate cannot be found, in addition to other costs that cannot be recouped the cancelling roommate may also be liable for the single supplement fee of the roommate remaining on the tour. BAC encourages members to purchase trip cancellation insurance.

RIDE PARTICIPANT RESPONSIBILITY:  Please remember that BAC Ride Leaders are volunteers, and that successful tours depend on participants providing much of their own support. Participants are expected to come to the ride well trained, in good health and ready to accomplish the required daily riding using well-maintained bicycles. All participants should accept responsibility for a safe and enjoyable tour. We encourage you to read the ride description carefully and respond to requests from Ride Leader. While on the ride, support your Ride Leader with offers to help with various tasks such as happy hour preparation and clean-up. Please do not interfere with the ride by inviting non-participants onto any portion of the ride or tour. Please keep the Ride Leader informed of any special request you may have and respect the Ride Leader’s decisions.

SIGN-UP:  To register for this ride, use the sign-up links just above the Ride Description. After preliminary acceptance, you will be moved to the pending list and receive an email requesting you to go back to the BAC site to digitally accept the Release of Liability (ROL), and pay the non-refundable BAC fee ($50) and tour deposit ($500) by credit card. As soon as your deposit has been processed, your name(s) will be added to the Participant List. BAC members with questions may contact the Ride Leader by "clicking" the name at the top of this Ride Description.